As of mid-2011 there are no published molecular analyses of pond heron interrelationships[2] and osteological data is likewise not analyzed for all relevant comparison taxa.

[3] The Chinese pond heron is typically 47 cm (19 in) long with white wings, a yellow bill with a black tip, yellow eyes and legs.

[4] It is found in shallow fresh and salt water wetlands and ponds in China and adjacent temperate and subtropical East Asia.

One individual in breeding plumage was seen by the river at Bonzon near Gangaw – just inside the Chin State of Burma – west of the species' usual range, on April 8, 1995.

A stray bird stopping over on Saint Paul Island, Alaska on August 4–9, 1997 was the first recorded occurrence of this species in North America.